Like a Spider
by M C Pehrson
Summary: "Pinehaven" Story #5 When the behavior of Spock's son, Simon, shocks the family, Tess seeks help from an unexpected source.


The latest trouble with Simon S'chn T'gai had not happened all at once, but in a subtle progression of events that slowly stirred Tess's suspicions. She had been busy with a baby son when her big brother requested a furlough from his priestly ministry in order to pursue musical interests. Though Simon's wife seemed supportive, Tess had secretly wondered if his mind was really on something other than music. She had once caught him misbehaving with a young Vulcan woman named T'Asha, but Simon had promised to reform, so she had kept the information to herself.

Now it was sadly apparent that he had not followed through on that promise.

Tess sat with her mother, who had driven over from Plum Creek with the terrible news. Her mind reeling, she held little Nate on her lap until he squirmed to get down. At last she lowered him to the floor and he crawled over to his toys.

"I can hardly believe it," Tess said, though it was not exactly true. As much as it hurt, she _could_ believe that Simon had permanently left the priesthood and filed for divorce. She had no difficulty picturing him with his lover T'Asha on the colony world where they were now living together.

T'Naisa spoke in an angry tone. "He sent Dane a long letter. He said it wasn't her fault, but that he had never really loved her."

"That's not true," Tess insisted. "He loved Dane."

"Of course he did," agreed her mother. "He's trying to justify himself. I wonder how long he's kept this hidden..."

Though Tess knew the answer, she countered with a question of her own. "How is Father taking it?"

"Like he's been phaser-struck. It's hard enough with Simon turning his back on everything Spock holds dear, but it's only a matter of time before this reaches the press." She sighed. "Bad news always does."

oooo

Tess was with her Uncle Nayo when the news went public. He had found her a small role as a Vulcan pianist in his current movie. She was to perform at a concert interrupted by the devastating San Francisco earthquake, and the complicated effects made filming the single scene stretch into a couple of days.

When Nayo heard about Simon, he tartly said, "I didn't know about it. I suppose your father thought it was none of my business…even though Simon _is_ my nephew."

They were seated together in his posh dressing room, taking a well-earned break. Years ago, she had looked upon Nayo as a sort of second father, but now she rarely thought of him as Spock's twin—they were so unalike, right down to the rakish beard that Nayo preferred. There was no denying that his Black League upbringing had permanently roughened his character, but Tess loved him anyway.

She watched him bring out an illicit cigarette and light it. Clouds of pungent smoke swirled in the air before a ventilation fan sucked it away. Though she stifled a cough, he did not apologize for her discomfort. Uncle Nayo never apologized.

"Well," he said, taking a deep puff, "a scandal of this sort might shake a person's belief in God. But I know men, and priest or no priest, Simon is only a man. And this T'Asha is a very attractive young woman."

The mention of God emboldened Tess, for she had been thinking deeply about Simon ever since he abandoned the priesthood. "Yes," she agreed. "T'Asha is young and beautiful, but Simon's faith has always been unshakable. Yanash saved him in the Vulcan desert and cleared the way for him to become a priest."

Nayo nodded. The stories about Simon had become part of Yanashite lore, and he knew them all.

Tess felt her heart beat faster. "Uncle Nayo, I've been wondering. What if Simon couldn't help himself? What if he needs our help?"

Nayo cocked a slanted eyebrow. Flicking the ash dangling from his cigarette, he said, "Our help? What do you mean?"

In her excitement, Tess leaned forward. "I mean that maybe…just maybe…T'Asha's done something to him…to his mind. He's a telepath, and as a priest he used that ability regularly." She could almost hear her husband Nathan's fond, sensible voice. _Tess, you're becoming more and more like your niece Bethany—always trying to concoct some sort of mystery, so you can play at solving it._

Was that what she was doing? Feeding an overactive imagination?

Nayo said, "I'm afraid that plot's been greatly overused."

"I know," she readily agreed, "but that's the point, don't you see? It's so simple, so obvious, that anyone could pick up the idea and use it. Simon has his faults, but I just can't see him defecting from the faith. Won't you help me get to the bottom of this?"

Nayo's brown eyes widened with surprise. "What do you expect _me_ to do? Chase off to Primus Colony and break up their love nest?"

"I need you to do what I can't…and what Mom and Father _won't_ do because of all their emotional baggage."

"…I see." He took a moment to snuff out the butt of his cigarette. "I have no emotional ties to the family, is that it?"

Tess reached across the table and caught his hand in hers. Physically, it felt like her father's hand, but she could sense an upwelling of far different feelings. She had not meant to offend him. "No, Uncle Nayo, I'm not saying anything of the kind. I know you have a good heart."

Outside the dressing room, an assistant director called for them, and their conversation broke off. By day's end, filming on Tess's scene was completed. As prearranged, Nathan arrived with the children, and Nayo drove them to his home on a mountainside above town. His wife was away on another undercover mission. It seemed to Tess that Sola Thane led a very strange and exciting life, but it was not the sort of life for Tess. Nor did she want to be an actress. She had only taken the small role to please Nayo, and the two days of filming had worn on her. She looked forward to heading back home to a simpler existence. But first they would eat dinner together.

It would have been nice to sit outdoors on Nayo's beautiful patio, but here in the high country of Colorado, the temperature plummeted after sunset. They gathered in a formal dining room. The gleaming wood table held a vase of fragrant roses cut from her uncle's terraced garden. He made no attempt to cook. The food came from a fine restaurant, beamed in fresh and hot from the valley, like most of his meals. He did not consider the expense, for acting had made him a wealthy man. Yet he did not put on any airs tonight. Tess enjoyed watching him eat the simple food he had selected for himself. He clearly relished each bite of his mashed potatoes and pork ribs, leaving only a pile of stripped bones on his plate.

Sometime after dessert, little Nate fell asleep in Tess's arms, and even Adele began to rub her eyes. Nayo arranged for their transport back to Pinehaven.

Before Tess entered his private transporter alcove, she kissed a smooth spot beside her uncle's goatee and softly said, "You could find out the truth about Simon and T'Asha. You could peek into her mind."

Though her eyes pleaded with him, he merely shrugged and shook his head as if to say, _Sorry, but I'm not going to get involved._

Back home in Pinehaven, Nathan waited until the children were in bed. Then he asked, "What was that business about Simon and T'Asha?"

When Tess told him her suspicions, he said, "Oh, Tess. You always want to think the best about Simon."

"Nathan, he's my brother."

"Who happens to be a creep. Look at the cold way he's always treated you."

"But that's different from leaving the faith," she objected.

"Is it?" he wondered. "And please, don't try and involve that dubious uncle of yours."

Tess could only sigh. Nathan did not share her affection for Nayo.

oooo

It was a warm, pleasant night in Pinehaven. Nayo loitered on the sidewalk near Tess's house, smoking in the dark until the glow of his cigarette consumed all the tobacco and went out. The light filtering through Tess's curtains drew him with its promise of comfort and companionship. Of all his nieces and nephews, he liked Tess best. Though at one time he had scorned her as a "half-wit", her open loving heart had won him even before her intellect grew sharper. Now, for her sake more than any annoyance with the press, he shook off his indecision and mounted the porch steps.

Nathan answered the doorbell and reacted with the predictable shock of recognition that followed celebrities everywhere. In Nathan's case, there was as added element of displeasure. But a moment later, Nayo was seated in the cozy living room, enjoying a cup of coffee brought to him by Tess. She had inherited the taste for coffee from her mother, and made a rich flavorful brew.

"Well," she said with a winning smile, "this is a happy surprise!"

Seated close at her side, Nathan eyed Nayo like a hawk. He was a very protective husband and clearly found it difficult to trust a former member of the infamous Black League. The recent dinner at Nayo's house had done little to thaw the ice between them.

"Yes," Nathan said in a meticulously polite tone, "to what do we owe the honor?"

Since the children were in bed, Nayo spoke frankly. "I'm about to leave on an interplanetary publicity tour. Primus Colony is among my stops."

Tess gave a start. "Oh?"

"Simon doesn't yet know it, but I intend to stay at his home. It's time that I get to know this nephew…and his paramour…a little better."

He had expected Tess to jump for joy. Instead, her slanted brows drew together. "Oh, Uncle Nayo. Should you really? I've been looking into Federation law. Mental intrusion is much more serious than eavesdropping; on Primus, it's a criminal offence. You could get into a lot of trouble."

He found her concern touching. Who but his wife ever showed such a genuine interest in his welfare? Even his grown son D'Gar was more emotionally distant that Tess.

"Put your mind at ease," he told her. "If T'Asha is guilty of some sort of manipulation, she won't dare bring charges against me. And if she's innocent? Well, I'll see that she never remembers our little 'conversation', and Simon will be all hers."

Clearly relieved, Tess rushed over and hugged him, but the sinister plan left Nathan looking more wary than ever.

oooo

Nayo had no difficulty locating Simon. On Primus as elsewhere, Simon S'chn T'gai was a well-known violinist and composer. With Nayo's connections in the entertainment industry, he soon had his wayward nephew on the phone and boldly invited himself for a stay in the love nest. Brushing aside Simon's excuses about a "hectic schedule", Nayo appeared on his seaside doorstep, luggage in hand.

Nayo hardly knew Simon, and T'Asha was a complete stranger until Simon introduced her. T'Asha's chilly reception made Simon seem almost warmhearted by comparison. It was obvious that she found Nayo's celebrity status unimpressive and did not want him in her home, but he pretended not to notice. He had undertaken this mission only for Tess's sake. Now that he had settled in, he would observe the lovebirds at close hand while waiting for a moment alone with the alluring T'Asha.

Primus Colony was a pleasant, Earthlike world populated with more than its share of artists and intellectuals. But even here, Nayo had fans among men who like their entertainment full of physical action, and women secretly enamored with Vulcan males. The publicity trail kept him as busy as his talented nephew, but Nayo also found time to enjoy the botanical wonders of Primus. The planet was a gardener's paradise, lush with exotic flowers that he captured with a camera. In the evenings, he dined with his tense, unwilling hosts while the surf churned along their oceanfront property.

"This locale must remind you of your childhood in San Francisco," Nayo said to his nephew, who had grown up in that lovely city before it sank into the Pacific. "And Spock has mentioned a beach house that belonged to your mother. Wasn't her name Lauren Fielding?"

Simon seemed uncomfortable remembering those early days, and T'Asha's cold dark eyes bored into Nayo as if silently warning, _Let him be._

On the third day of Nayo's visit, he made an unscheduled return to the house and caught T'Asha alone. He spied her out by her private dock, staring at a thick white web draping a tree on the property. It was a sunny morning, with gull-like birds wheeling and crying overhead. Water lapped at the thick dock pilings and rocked the couple's cabin cruiser as Nayo quietly walked up from behind T'Asha and cleared his throat.

Startled, she wheeled around and glared at him.

"Interesting," he said, indicating the web that had held her deep attention. "It wasn't up there yesterday. Is it a fungus?"

Coolly she replied, "No, it's the web of a ghost spider. I advise you to step carefully around it. The species is very territorial…and quite deadly."

 _A veiled threat?_ Perhaps, but being constantly on the look for Black League assassins, Nayo was not intimidated. He pulled out a pack of contraband cigarettes and offered one to T'Asha. "Do you smoke?"

Her white, even teeth clenched in distaste. "Of course not."

Nayo smiled and lit one for himself. Exhaling a deep puff, he watched the warm salt breeze carry off the smoke. Then he said, "It's plain to see that you don't like me. So I'll make you a bargain." He gestured to the sleek red boat alongside the dock. "Take me out…just a little run around the shoreline…and I'll pack my bags and go."

She studied him with suspicion. "Why?"

"Because I enjoy boating," he lied. The thought of tossing about on the waves made him nervous, for he had never learned to swim and always demanded a stunt double for water scenes.

"Very well," T'Asha said, "it's a bargain."

Nayo followed her aboard and braced himself against the pitching as she started the engine and set out, leaving a foamy wake. Rather than follow the shore, she steered straight toward the horizon. For a moment he wondered if she would try to pitch him overboard. The idea of such an uneven struggle was only faintly amusing. Locating a life vest, he strapped it on before proceeding with his own plan.

He wasted no time as he moved in beside T'Asha, dropped her with an expert nerve pinch, and shut down the engine. The boat drifted to a swaying stop. Seeing himself surrounded by pitching waves, he shook off an encroaching nausea and bent to his task.

T'Asha's face had relaxed into lines of innocence, but as Nayo positioned his right hand over the meld points, he could sense the duplicity lurking just beneath the surface. Swiftly he entered her mind and discovered the truth for himself.

 _…T'Asha was barely thirteen when her family immigrated from Vulcan to Phoenix, Arizona. From the age of six she had been reared in the Yanashite way, learning to be freer with her emotions than ordinary Vulcan children. She fit right in at Phoenix Temple School, where an assistant priest named Simon taught religion, but at home she began receiving instruction in a very different doctrine. Skilled agents of a Traditionalist Vulcan movement, her parents carefully groomed young T'Asha for a mission to discredit the despised Yanashites. From the beginning, Simon was their target of choice. Since he was only one-quarter Vulcan, his mind could be easily influenced._

 _T'Asha found her mission pleasant. All the schoolgirls took notice of Simon, and she was no different. He was the eldest son of the famous Spock, yet human-looking and extremely handsome. His vivid blue eyes made her insides melt, and her spirit soared when he occasionally played his violin at religious services._

 _At the age of fifteen, she began to linger on the temple grounds, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. One pleasant day she followed Simon as he walked to the house on Eleventh Street where he lived with his wife, Dane, and daughter Devon. Dane was a talented violinist who played in a local orchestra, and Devon was also training to be a musician. T'Asha wished that Devon was still young enough to need a babysitter, for she would gladly have worked for the pleasure of spending a little time in Simon's home._

 _Shortly after Simon became pastor, T'Asha made friends with the new housekeeper at the priests' residence. She was sixteen now, and old Mrs. Fogarty enjoyed her visits. Sometimes Mrs. Fogarty let T'Asha help around the kitchen and set the table for the noon meal, which Simon and his assistant always ate at the residence. It was then that she began to dream of living with Simon as his lifelong bondmate. The goal of discrediting him as a Yanashite priest had become hopelessly entangled with her personal feelings._

 _In the final stage of planning, T'Asha took Simon as her confessor. She had matured into a young woman of eighteen, certain of her mental control. Through these regular, intimate contacts, Simon began to fall under her sensual spell. Then the day came when he declared his love for her and became willing to sacrifice everything for her sake…_

oooo

T'Asha lay sleeping at Nayo's feet as he piloted the cabin cruiser back to the dock. He felt ill—not only from the sea, but also from the perverse scheming of this wily young Vulcan. In the name of Surak's logic, she and her kind had torn Simon's family apart in a plot worthy of the Black League. The shadow of his own dark, murderous days further sickened him.

Reaching the shore, he secured the boat and easily carried T'Asha into the house. As he laid her on the sofa, she began to stir. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, and remembering the presence of his mind in hers, she leapt to her feet, rigid with outrage.

"You lying _vekh!"_ she cried. "You filthy liar, I'll kill you!"

But she knew his reputation as a fighter and made no move.

"I am filthy?" Nayo asked. "For seeking the truth among your memories? In that case, _aisha,_ how dirty are you?" He did not wait for a reply. "Contact Simon. Use any excuse you like, but call him home immediately. You will reveal yourself to him and release your hold on his mind, or I will have you arrested."

Her face went pasty white. Nayo could almost pity her, for in her predatory way, she actually loved Simon. But in the interest of self-preservation, she crossed over to the phone and summoned her lover for a "dire emergency". Breaking off his rehearsal, Simon beamed straight into the living room.

"What is this all about?" he demanded, looking from Nayo to T'Asha.

Calmly Nayo said, "Tell him, woman."

Simon swung around and confronted him, blue eyes flaming. "You will not address her in that manner! In fact, I want you out of this house! _Now._ "

"Not until she has set you free," Nayo retorted.

T'Asha broke down sobbing, and taking her into his arms, Simon asked, "What has he done to you?"

Nayo said, "Nephew, it is what she has done…to you. Show him, T'Asha. Show him and undo the damage."

 _"What_ damage?" Simon asked in frustration.

"T'Asha," Nayo warned.

Her head turned and she looked upon him with loathing.

Nayo heard a faint scuffle on the carpet behind him. In that instant, he remembered leaving the back door open when he carried T'Asha inside.

Something touched his left heel and stirred the fabric of his trouser cuff. Instinctively he reached for a sheathed dagger at his waist. A pallid spider the size of a saucer was halfway up his leg when Nayo's blade neatly skewered it. The bloody remains dropped harmlessly to the floor and lay twitching.

Composing himself, Nayo returned his attention to T'Asha. In the Black League, he had seen Vulcans capable of influencing the behavior of lesser species. As a member of that league, he had done his own share of evil, but he was no longer that man, and Tess's unconditional love had been part of the process.

T'Asha had summoned the ghost spider for an attack. And like a spider herself, she had been steadily pumping her venom into Tess's brother. Now it must end.

"You _said_ you would kill me," Nayo told her.

"T'Asha kill you?" Simon scoffed. "You must be crazy!"

Nayo's jaw tightened. "You've failed, T'Asha. Now it's time for the truth."

Her dark eyes narrowed as she considered her remaining options. At last she turned to Simon, arranged her fingers on his startled face, and entered his mind. Nayo observed the bittersweet play of emotions between them. Then Simon shoved the deceitful temptress away, and Nayo knew that her hold was finally broken. T'Asha did not look back as she escaped out the door.

Simon stood frozen to the spot. He felt as if he had awakened from a nightmare, but clearly this had been no dream, for the wreckage of his life lay all around him. He had come to his senses so abruptly that the whole universe seemed off-kilter, and he did not know how to restore it.

Numbly he whispered to his uncle, "Thank-you."

Nayo came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank your sister Tess. It was she who believed in you, she who suspected T'Asha."

oooo

Simon spent a month wrapping up his affairs on Primus and getting back in touch with the God of his youth. He might have put all the blame for his fall on T'Asha, but he knew that his own mental and spiritual weakness had made him vulnerable to her artful manipulation. It was a bitter lesson in humility, one that he had badly needed. Now he must return home to face his family and his church. He had disgraced the office of his priesthood and would embrace whatever lowly duties his superiors considered appropriate. As for his wife and daughter, there was no way of knowing if they would ever let him back into their lives.

Perhaps it was not so very strange that his first stop on Earth was neither Phoenix nor Plum Creek. He went instead to the town of Pinehaven, rented an air car, and drove to the little house where Tess taught piano. As he stepped out of the car, he faintly heard childish fingers playing a tune, and knew that his sister was busy with a pupil. But this could not wait.

Determined to get it over with, Simon walked up to the front door and knocked loudly. The slow, halting music broke off.

Tess opened the door and her face lit with joy. "Simon!" she cried, moving as if to put her arms around him. But then she changed her mind, for they had never been close. He had made sure of that. "Simon, Uncle Nayo said you were coming home, but…"

He finished the thought for her. "But you never expected to see me here?"

She nodded.

With a pain in his heart, he said, "Nayo told me that you never gave up…that you were the only one who believed in me."

"Oh Simon, I wasn't the only one," she answered in a rush. "Do you know that you can fit a million Earths inside the sun? That's how small we are, yet God hears our littlest prayer. I think He loves us because we _are_ small, in the same way that a father loves his smallest, most helpless child." She paused for a breath. "I've prayed for you…I've prayed hard…and look how good God has been to us!"

"Yes," Simon agreed in a thick voice, and took his precious sister into his arms.

oooOOooo


End file.
